Avocado Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Crunch Salad with Toasted Sesame Dressing

I knew I wanted to stuff and fry squash blossoms for dinner so I wanted to make sure the rest of the meal was fresh and light. I found beautiful purple carrots at the store and wanted to simply slice them thin to keep the color and texture.
The rice flour in the coating gives these squash blossoms an incredibly light, airy coating. If you've never tried rice flour for frying, you are missing out on a great, crunchy bite.

Crispy squash blossoms stuffed with avocado and vegan cream cheese on top a crunchy salad of radish, carrot, squash, macadamia nuts and crispy chow mein noodles tossed with a simple toasted sesame dressing.

Avocado Stuffed Squash Blossoms
8 squash blossoms
1 avocado, cut into 8 wedges
8 tsp vegan cream cheese, divided
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp sea salt
black pepper
3/4-1 cup water
peanut oil, for frying
1 tsp sesame seeds

Place 1 wedge of avocado and 1 tsp of cream cheese instead each blossom. Gently twist the ends to try to seal the blossom closed.
Heat the oil to 360 while you prepare the batter.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the water and whisk until slightly thinner than pancake batter.
Drop the blossoms into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 2 minutes. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt and sesame seeds.

Crunch Salad
1 head butter lettuce, leaves torn
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 summer squash, thinly sliced
1 cup crispy chow mein noodles
1 carrot, thinly sliced
3 radishes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped toasted macadamia nuts

Combine all of the salad ingredients and toss with dressing. Serve with avocado stuffed squash blossoms.

Toasted Sesame Dressing
1 tbl toasted sesame seeds
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbl orange juice
1 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup peanut oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender minus the oil. Blend for 2 minutes. While the blender is on, stream in the oil slowly. Blend until smooth and slightly thick.